Ben Affleck’s cinematic take on a real-life CIA extraction mission is everything a taut, smart thriller should be– and more. Loaded with atmospherics and cliff-hanger moments, this movie-about-a-fake-movie makes for a real treat.

The setting is Iran just after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the puppet ruler installed by the US, has been overthrown and the Iranians are a throbbing, pulsating mass of anti-American rage. With the cancer-struck Shah being granted asylum in the US, thousands of angry Iranians have surrounded the American Embassy in Tehran, demanding the Shah’s return so that he can be tried and hanged.

As the film opens, the embassy is stormed and in the midst of the ensuing chaos, six American embassy officials sneak out unnoticed. They take refuge at the house of the Canadian ambassador and must avoid discovery by the mob or face likely death. It falls upon the CIA’s extraction expert, Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), to find a way to get the six out of Iran, alive. And thus begins a preposterous rescue mission, which involves floating a fake Hollywood production titled Argo – a space fantasy that would be shot in the Iranian desert. The plan is that Tony will pose as a Canadian filmmaker, land in Tehran, pretend to scout for locations and bring the six Americans out by pretending they are part of the Canadian film unit.

Ludicrous, implausible and a ‘bad bad idea’, right? But for lack of a ‘better bad idea’, Tony gets a go ahead. He sets up the Hollywood end of the business with make-up man John Chambers (John Goodman) and producer Lester Seigel (Alan Arkin). With the duo in charge of the Hollywood side, Tony embarks on the mission in Iran, where even a single misstep would mean public hanging.

Argo is one of those rare espionage dramas that are fuelled by dramatic tension rather than gunshots and explosions. Right from the opening scene, with an unruly mob of thousands chanting ‘death to America’, the scene is set for a detailed recreation of the historic incidents as they happened. (The end credits compare news photos with movie stills to further reinforce the based-on-a-true-story element). The production design is immaculate, with the grainy cinematography lending an eerie authenticity to the proceedings. Every emotion presented is palpable: the anger of the mob, the fear of the embassy residents and the anxiety of the refugees.

The writing (Chris Terrio), based on a Wired magazine feature, is whip-smart – especially the Hollywood track, with Alan Arkin and John Goodman doing a terrific job of bringing comic relief with their witty lines that contrast sharply with the gravitas of the proceedings on the Iranian front. While the scope for character development is minimal, the key players have all the bases covered.

Ben Affleck proves his mastery behind the camera as well as in front of it, and the supporting players pitch in with nuanced performances, making every twist and turn in this film a delightful experience. (Don’t miss the end-credits where pictures of the actors and real life embassy officials are juxtaposed to underline the efforts taken to create verisimilitude.) This one might just win Ben Affleck an Oscar nomination.